Endotracheal intubation includes the act of introducing a hollow tube, called an endotracheal tube, into a patient's trachea to provide airway control. Airway control is necessary for life in the unconscious patient or the patient who is unable to protect their own airway due to any variety of reasons. Endotracheal intubation allows ventilation of the unconscious patient, reduces aspiration risk, enables introduction of gases during surgery, presents an alternative drug route, and allows foreign body visualization and removal. In the emergency setting endotracheal intubation is time-critical, especially in instances where the patient is unable to breathe. Unfortunately, traditional approaches for endotracheal intubation are prone to at least two central problems, each of which frequently results in loss of life.
One such problem with traditional approaches of intubation is that a medical practitioner selects what they hope will be an appropriately sized endotracheal tube based upon the patient's body size. Should the patient's trachea be smaller than anticipated or become narrowed beyond where it can be visualized (as is often the case due to trauma, hemorrhage, allergic reaction, infection, anatomic disruption, vocal cord dysfunction, or the like) a standard sized tube may not pass without causing damage to the surrounding tissue or in worst case scenarios will not pass at all. Moreover, in cases where only a smaller tube may fit safely into the patient's trachea, the diameter of the endotracheal tube may be inadequate to provide the necessary pressure for ventilation and treatment. For example, the smaller tube size may make it harder for the patient to breathe, for the medical practitioner to administer sufficient medications, and the like, thereby further endangering the life of the patient.
Closely related to the issue of properly fitting the standard sized endotracheal tube into the patient's trachea is the lack of adequate visibility for proper intubation by the medical practitioner. During endotracheal intubation, the medical practitioner must have a certain level of visibility beyond the most distal end of the endotracheal tube in order to safely guide the tube past any obstructions and in between the vocal cords into the trachea. Unfortunately, visibility of the vocal cords and the entrance to the trachea is often obscured due to the relatively large size of the endotracheal tube itself as it is brought into position. At other times, visibility may be obscured due to any of a variety of reasons, including trauma, bleeding in the airway, tumor, infection, cord pathology, epiglottitis, and the like. Without sufficient visibility during intubation, the medical practitioner must often blindly guide the tube by approximating the entrance to the trachea, a process that is both dangerous and time-consuming. A blind intubation often results in placement of the endotracheal tube into the esophagus, which in turn results in the inability to ventilate the patient causing both morbidity and mortality. Current practices, that may involve such aids as mirrors, or the like, to enhance visibility, may unfortunately also require adding an extra width to the already cramped diameter of the tube, often further exacerbating the size problem.
Solutions to the problems of variable tube sizes and lack of adequate visibility during intubation are not currently within the scope of existing tools or methods, and therefore there is need in the industry for an improved tool and associated endotracheal intubation methods. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.